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Dubai, March 12 (IANS) India’s in-form opener Shubman Gill has been named ICC Men’s Player of the Month award for February 2025. The 25-year-old outshone Australia’s Steve Smith and New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips to claim the honour. This is the third ICC Men’s Player of the Month honour for Gill, who had previously won twice in 2023 - January and September.“I am elated to win the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award for February. Nothing gives me more motivation than performing with the bat and winning matches for my country," Gill said in a statement.“The lead-up to the Champions Trophy 2025 was very crucial and I am glad I was able to make the most out of it. It has been a phenomenal start to the year individually as well as for us as a unit. I am looking forward to an action-packed cricke...

Jaipur, March 12 (IANS) Rajasthan Royals head coach Rahul Dravid will join the team’s preparatory camp in Jaipur on Wednesday, a week after suffering an injury on his left leg during a club match in Bengaluru. The IPL franchise shared a photo on social media on Wednesday, in which Dravid is seen wearing a cast on his left leg, and captioned the post, "Head Coach Rahul Dravid, who picked up an injury while playing Cricket in Bangalore, is recovering well and will join us today in Jaipur."The former Royals' captain spent five seasons with the franchise from 2011 to 2015. He began his coaching career with the Royals back in 2014 when he transitioned from serving as the captain to being the team's mentor. Former India head coach Dravid made a surprise return to the cricket field by playing alo...

Dubai, March 12 (IANS) After the recently concluded ICC Men’s Champions Trophy-winning campaign, India skipper Rohit Sharma moved up to third place in the ODI batting rankings chart, led by fellow opener Shubman Gill. India lifted their third Champions Trophy title with a thrilling four-wicket victory over New Zealand in Dubai, star performers from both teams have been rewarded in the rankings update released on Wednesday.Rohit, who smashed a match-winning 76 off 83 balls in the final, jumped two places to third. For his impressive performance in the final, Rohit was awarded the Player of the Match trophy. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli, who amassed 218 runs in the tournament, remains in the top five (fifth place) following his haul of 218 runs in the tournament.New Zealand’s batters also made not...

New Delhi, March 12 (IANS) The 20-year-old forward Arshdeep Singh has recently been in the spotlight for his consistent performances, earning him his senior India debut at the FIH Hockey Pro League 2024/25 (Men) in Bhubaneswar.Arshdeep first made headlines during the 2024 Men’s Junior Asia Cup in December last year as he scored six goals in the tournament and was impressive with the stick.“It was a very good tournament for me, and I scored some good goals. Especially winning against Pakistan in the final was a special moment for me. I thought I would get a chance to play for the seniors after the Junior World Cup later this year, but I didn’t expect to make it into the senior squad so early,” he commented.Although he did catch eyes during the Junior Asia Cup, Arshdeep Singh’s breakout tour...

Mumbai, March 12 (IANS) Top guns Ramit Tandon, Velavan Senthilkumar, Veer Chotrani, Anahat Singh, and Akanksha Salunkhe are set to feature in the Indian Open, the country's first ever PSA Squash Copper Event, alongside some of the best talent from countries like Egypt, Canada, Malaysia, Japan among others. A USD 40,000 prize money event, which will take place from March 24-28 at the Bombay Gymkhana, marks the return of a top squash tournament in the country after 2018, when Mumbai hosted the CCI International – a PSA World Tour Silver tournament.The tournament will be hosted across Bombay Gymkhana’s indoor courts, with a full-glass outdoor court set up for the quarterfinal, semifinal and final, creating a thrilling spectator experience.India No.1 Ramit said, “It’s always special to compet...

New Delhi, March 12 (IANS) Ahead of IPL 2025 season, Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson said letting go of his close friend, wicketkeeper-opener Jos Buttler, was the toughest thing for him and that if he had the power to change a rule in the IPL, it would be of never releasing players. RR retaining Samson, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shimron Hetmyer ahead of IPL 2025 mega auction meant they didn’t have a slot to retain Buttler, who will now turn out for the Gujarat Titans in the upcoming season starting on March 22."IPL gives you the opportunity to lead a team and play at the highest level, but it also allows you to build close friendships. Jos Buttler is one of my closest friends. We played together for seven years, forming a long batting partnership. We knew each ot...

Mumbai, March 12 (IANS) As the football’s greatest rivalries coming to Indian soil with legends of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona reigniting their iconic battle, Luis Figo, Carles Puyol, Fernando Morientes, and Ricardo Quaresma are among the football greats excited to bring the magic on the pitch in 'Legends Faceoff'. This historic faceoff will take place at the 55,000-capacity DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on April 6.Figo, a Ballon d’Or winner (2000) and a key figure in Portuguese football history, played for both FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, winning multiple La Liga titles and the 2002 UEFA Champions League with Los Blancos."India, I know you love football, and I can’t wait to bring the magic to Mumbai. Let’s make this an unforgettable night!” Figo said.Puyol is a defensive powerhouse f...

New Delhi, March 12 (IANS) Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting believes that Rohit Sharma not looking to retire from ODIs means he has a specific goal of playing the 2027 Men’s ODI World Cup. Rohit clinched his second ICC title as India captain when the side beat New Zealand by four wickets to win 2025 ICC Champions Trophy in Dubai. There were rumours doing the rounds of Rohit retiring from ODIs just the way he called it quits from the T20I format after winning the World Cup in Barbados last year.But the skipper, who top-scored with 76 to take the Player of the Final award, quashed all those talks after winning the Champions Trophy. “When you start getting to that point of your career, everyone's waiting for you to retire.”“And I don't know why, when you can still play as well as he's p...

New Delhi, March 12 (IANS) After not making it to the playoffs of 2025 Women’s Premier League (WPL), Royal Challengers Bengaluru all-rounder Ellyse Perry admitted the season was a tricky one for her team, who were disappointed with some of the performances not being up to the mark. Defending champions RCB began their campaign on a strong note with two consecutive wins, but faced five successive losses, including in all four of their games at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, which eventually led them to miss the bus for the playoffs.They weren’t helped by the fact that they lost Kate Cross, Sophie Devine, Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana and Sophie Molineux to injuries ahead of the season. RCB, though, ended the season on a high with an 11-run win over Mumbai Indians at the Brabourne Stadium and de...